Results of Lust, Money & Murder Book 6 Serial Posting Survey

As promised, I will share with you (a VIP Reader List member) the results of the survey that was included at the end of the serial posts of Lust, Money & Murder 6 on my blog.  If you were one of the 117 readers who completed the survey, I want to thank you for that, as the information was invaluable to me.

First let me briefly tick off the benefits I see of serially publishing Advance Review Copies (ARCs) of my novels:

• It gets the books into your hands faster.
• It causes readers to visit my blog every day, which helps you not forget about me in between books (some of you do, believe me--more about this below).
• It puts me on a tighter writing and publishing schedule and makes me more efficient.  Once I had the outline for LM&M 6 done (mostly in my head), it took less than three months to write and publish the 100,000 word book, start to finish.  I think I could write three books a year this way, taking one month "breaks" in between them to brainstorm and create the new outlines.
• This approach gives me an edge over traditionally published authors who have contracts with the largest publishing houses.  Due to their relatively slow publishing schedules (one book per year) and the associated bureaucracies, most of them would find this way of working extremely challenging.
• Readers of the serial blog posts help catch typos and continuity errors (thank you for that!)
• Last but not least, as an author, this approach gets me more involved with readers, causes more interaction between us.  Readers are everything to me--without you, I really have no reason to write.

What about the negatives? you may ask.  Isn't this literary "hire wire act" stressful?  Aren't you afraid of writing yourself into a corner?  And won't you lose a lot of sales publishing books on your blog for free?

First, I was also afraid it would be stressful, but this didn't turn out to be the case.  Having now written more than 25 books, I find that I make very few significant changes to my manuscripts between the first and final drafts these days (aside from correcting typos, etc., of course).  Also, I don't believe in this notion of "writing yourself into a corner."  Think about real life--you must solve all your problems when they occur, using the resources you have at hand--none of us can go back in time and change anything.  So, if you, as an author, feel like you have written yourself into a corner, I don't think you are being creative enough.  Readers are always impressed if you can get your hero out of an impossible-seeming jam.

Finally, about the question of lost sales--I will discuss this below with the relevant data.

Here are the survey results:

This proves my point - more than half of the readers who read Lust, Money & Murder Book 6 on my blog have just finished Book 5 ("Was directed there at the end of Book 5" at top).  This implies most are new readers of mine, meaning that they probably just started reading the series a few weeks or months ago.  Since the series has been published and selling well for almost five years, you would think a lot more old readers would be lapping up a free copy of Lust, Money & Murder 6.  Many of them simply don't know it's available.  Unless they have signed up to my VIP Reader List, I have no way of contacting them (Amazon nor any other ebook retailer will share their contact information with authors--we have no idea who buys our books unless you, the reader, contacts us).  I am constantly amazed when, at least once a week, someone contacts me on the social networks and says, "Hey, Mike, LM&M Book 4 is out?  Wow.  I didn't even know!"

This was what I expected, as the number of people web surf on tablets and phones is steadily increasing due to cheaper devices (including ereading tablets) and smartphones with bigger, higher resolution screens.

This result was a little surprising - I expected more people to complain that the posts were too short.  The length I shot for was 1,500 words, but sometimes I got on a roll and published 2,000 or even 3,000.

This is about what I expected - two thirds of you will buy it even though you have read it already, and one third won't.  A few respondents were concerned that I would "lose money" from this approach, but you have to remember that this book will only have been free on my blog for a small fraction of the time that it will be available to buy--a few months versus many years.  My instincts are that the goodwill I am creating with the serial ARC publishing, and the new, long-term readers who discover my books this way (new traffic to my blog), will more than make up for any lost sales during that relatively short three month period when the book is free.

This was also a little surprising, especially a couple of rather--how shall we say?--aggressive commenters who said they would not buy my books anymore if I publish an ARC serially again.  I found this a little odd, as all they have to do is simply ignore the serial posts and buy the book the normal way when it comes out.  Maybe they don't have the required willpower, which I suppose is a compliment to me.  But it seems like they could practice a little more self-control, knowing that this approach results in me putting out more books, faster, which is ultimately what they want.

The comments that readers made in response to all these questions are pasted in below.

Thanks again to all of you who took the time to complete this survey and of course a huge thanks to all of your who buy and read my books!

Mike

P.S.  A huge thanks to my Forbidden coauthor Devika Fernando, who "pre-proofread" my serial posts every day and caught tons of errors.

COMMENTS:

How did you find out that Lust, Money & Murder Book 6 was being published serially on my blog?




From the barnes and noble app

Partner told me

Had been anxiously watching for it and doing random searches.

On your website about another of your books...wrote back to you that I was really looking forward to book 6, which was past the release date you had mentioned at the end of book 5.

I read the serial book from your blog on my:

Read the weekly blogs then loaded the book by chapter 42 through end

Also read on smartphone

nook

I downloaded book 1 for free on Kindle

I downloaded right now the full epub edition

printed out each chapter..a lot of paper.

Ipad

Ipad2

kindle fire

Kindle

Kindle

Kindle

Ipad

Kindle HDX

The average length of the each serial post was:

Irrelevant 

Don't know. See 2.

Too short - but only because I wanted to keep going! Unputdownable!! 

Regardless of how long, it would have always been too short but enjoyed the discipline. :)

About right, however I can't hardly wait to read the next post!!!

When the actual final version of ebook comes out for sale next week I will buy/not buy (please explain):

I already know the storyline.

Because I already read it. I can't read a book twice much like watching a movie when you've already seen it.

I already read it ??

I don't generally re-read books. 

It's getting too expensive... 

Already read it.

Bought 1 through 5 and purchased 6 with free discount code

love reading it

I can only read a book once as you know the end second time round

I already have it saved

Just to have to read again

I like the series and am looking forward to the next trilogy.

I read the updates on my iPad but would like the book on my kindle which is an old style and I can't download updates on there

its been a great book 

Cat is only meant to have nine lives, he's on his tenth, and like the artist should be vulnerable, not super human invincible . How about ELAINE boy grows up and ( now you have a new hero or villain,!)

To read how it ends for Catoretti

If there is more added in the final I will. I am a little unclear on how this works. I love your books and will start another of your latest 

I bought the earlier segments. I considered this one your gift to me:)

Lack of time. 

Bot the first 5 would have bot #6 vs this water torture of a few chapters each week. Let me know if you plan on doing this again, I will not buy the first book.

want to have the complete series

I purchased the first 5 books for my Nook. I'd like the full set to re-read in the future.(And I think the author deserves it.)

cant book series

I' ve to buy the books 4 & 5.

Well, I have already ready it and I generally do not re-read a book.

not sure yet

Have to know the rest, I hate waiting 

I read it and enjoyed it and am looking forward to book 7

Because ive already read it!

I am satisfied with the story as it is

I would like to have the finished version to go with the rest of series.

Love your books.

So that I can have the whole book on my Nook.

It's great and I'll have it all in one piece

Depending on funds available to me

I am down to the last chapter of the last chapter.

I prefer to read the whole thing uninterrupted 

Because i already read the 1-5 books and since i have read the book 6 serially, I know how it ended so I don't need to read it again. I love your books and will read everything you will ever write. i admire your talent and your books are awesome. 

not sure, having already read it

I don't re-read often.

When I finish a book I'm finished

As I have now read it and will be anxiously awaiting book 7,to buy! For the record,I have brought all of mike's books,so the vip advance edition was a welcome bonus for a committed fan! Please hurry with book7!!

I've already bought each edition seperately

To reread it.

I have read it

Because I have read it

Because I have bought all the other books and would love to have a proper copy to re-read when ever I like 

Are you kidding! Just can't put it down, keep up the good work, love the way you write, thank you

Because I've read it

I've already read it, but I will review it. 

I have already read it in the blog. I would prefer to buy the book and read when and how much I want. 

I already read it here so no need to buy.

I just can't get enough of it.

I've already read it; may change my mind

Gotta know how it ends. I'm hooked 

I've already read it, why buy it?

I read it with the intent to pay for it.

Want it saved and maybe for other family members. I have all of the others.

I bought the earlier ones and have now read the whole story (so far!).

Want the whole series in my iBook library. Also want to see if the grammatical errors have been fixed...heh.

To read the book in its final version in case anything changed. 

Would like to read it again in the future

Love the series, and it's the least I can do after you provided us with free reading...brilliant!

I would rather just read books on my kindle when I want for as long as I want

Want a complete collection

Loved it, will read again at a later date.

It was a very enjoyable read that I would like to be in my personal library with the rest of your books

Having read each daily download a couple of times, I don't need to read it again. Will go onto another series..

I already read it. Getting digital books is not like getting hard cover books that look nice on shelves and can be shared with friends. But I will review this time when it is on Amazon.

Any further comments, criticisms, suggestions, etc. of my serial publishing approach and the VIP Reader Advance Edition?

Truly enjoyed the books! Thank you for the joy and suspense you bring to my eyeballs.

Great read... Really liked your style and character depth... Thank you

I find this approach most enjoyable and like the readers ability to interact... 

I am willing to read as it is written and be made to purchase to find out how it ends. If it is written as well as the others it would be worth the purchase. I do not want to wait a long time until the whole book is written to find out what's next!

Hurry up with the next ones ??

Thoroughly enjoyed the serial, couldn't wait for the next part . Would have liked the sections to be longer. Hope 7 won't be too long to be published.

Brilliant story line well thought out

I was frustrated and would like to read each book as a whole

Thoroughly enjoying each day's publication. A riveting story - always left with a cliff hanger. Can't wait to see what next week will bring. Thank you.

I like it very much as it limits my reading time so I can do other things like daily tasks. The weekend delivery is great.

Please publish book in its entirety before releasing. They are great and worth the money. Elaine Brogan was a more developed character than Heather Bancroft. Heather had no background as an athlete, special traine like Elaine. Elaine's physical feats were more believable than Heather's. My only comment, not necessarily a criticism, more of my opinion & observation. I am male, 58..CEO of large insurance co, and love your international Intrigue novels I don't read horror. Thanks for your great books. Rick Kline

Really looked forward to the updates, thank you

It's been a GREAT ROLLERCOASTER RIDE there Mike. Cheers

Never done it before it was exciting and marvelous to look forward to eah week

Need more material to read at a time

If you can figure out a way I would pay. 

I love this format, it keeps the suspense building...I have not read a book like this since "The Green Mile" . I loved it !

Please keep sending emails once the books 7, 8 and 9 are ready.

Tell us ahead of time if any book will be a serial down the road and I will abstain from buying it altogether.

Brilliant! You're the first serial author I've read. Discovered you on Twitter. You have awesome pacing, great dialogue and a writing style that truly makes for an "unputdownable" read. 

The daily doses made it easier to fit in some reading time. (no quilt)

great author

Your books are great. They are really addictive through. I can't put them down. Stay up all night reading.

I thought it was brilliant, but as i said before, I like to read at certain times, and being given a couple of chapters was not my idea of reading at the time when I wanted to spend quality time with a great story.

Thanks for the updates. Always great reading your work. 

ORDER ON KINDLE MORE CONVENIENT TO READ 

By being able to read the book in advance I really did feel like a VIP!! & I know you posted the draft version by accident - but I loved reading that & seeing your ideas before they even got to paper! - Sorry - I had already read it all - before I got the email to delete it!! :o) LOVE your books Mike!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! x

Maybe it would have been nice to find out if Lexy and the baby ended up with a settled life. 

This was absolutely awesome. It was the highlight of my week when your email came. You are my favorite new writer. I wish I had found you before. You keep me on the edge of my seat with each update. I have recommended you to all my friends that enjoy the same kind of books that I do. You are FANTASTIC!

Keep up the good work but take a vacation first, you need the break. 

I much prefer reading a complete book. Reading chapters is for kids. I can read a book in one day. Having second thoughts about reading any more of your books. Sincerely, bunny WASSERMAN. 84 yrs old and have cancer but recovering. Good luck to you!!!!!

You are a great writer. English is my second language. I don't speak or write it much. However, I was able to follow your story as if I knew all the events, places, actions myself. Especially, Elaine, Luna, Giorgio I felt I knew them personally. This shows that you connect to your readers wonderfully. Keep up the good work. Andy Winnipeg, Canada 

I think it was great and very generous of you to give your readers this option and I enjoyed it, even though I would rather have the whole book at the same time. 

Thanks for all your hard work and wonderful reads. 

You are very creative. I hope you can keep the thrillers coming!

Na

I love the commitment you have to your loyal fan base and the advance editions were welcomed by me,but I would love 7,8,9 to be published together ASAP,for those of us who just cannot wait! 

A serial action olot did not work for me . To chopped up. Bloat its momentum and couldn't remember wher I left off. I finally started to read it in Friday's only which helped

Can't wait for more, hope we don't have to wait a long time. I am glad I get e-mails to keep me updated.

I appreciate the weekly downloads on different reading devices. Many thanks, Mike Wells.

Great as usual. Looking forward to the chapters. Thank you for putting it on your blog. 

Enjoy your books ...thanks

Love your work. Keep it up :) I don't have anything bad to say. Looked forward to reading the book day by day. Thank you for another great read 

I really enjoyed every book 

Innovative brilliant approach

You are a great "keep us on the edge of our seats story teller, I am hooked on your characters and the way you write, keep it coming-nanny sparkle

Just would like to know when the next lot are published to purchase them

Love the story.

Its a Good approach

I will get the books on my Kindle when they come out. I hope to receive a notice when they do.

Loved it

You are so awesome! I'm reading another series of yours now. 

It was a great read...full of surprises and adventure. Mike is a great writer and if he finds this approach lends to his creativeness, it will be a win, win for both Mike and the reader. 

Quite interesting. I hope it does not cost sales. I think the interest raised will actually increase sales.

I liked the serial approach as it gave me an episode to anticipate each day. When I bought the first books I tended to devour them and then feel an emptiness when finished. 

it was difficult to read via the ipad for both my wife and myself, so we went to the Mac. But throughly enjoyed ourself's. 

Loved not having to wait. Would like longer excerpts, as I prefer to read for a longer length of time. (Retired so I have a out of time to read.). Wish I could review your grammar, spelling, and punctuation for you. It drives me crazy. Love this story, though.

I'm a satisfied reader and looking forward to the next book.

Wonderful series! I love all the characters, and you developed them so well I found myself actually liking The Cat at certain times. I would love to see something happen with Dmitri....a series of his own maybe? :)

It's about time for Cattoretti to be caught !

Excellent work and story! Love thriller and suspense stories.

Thank you for being such interactive authour! I feel you are a part of all of us:)

I will not read any more books this way

Pls publish post daily earlier instead of afternoon

It was a good idea. It gave me a few minutes of escape from my routine.

Love being able to read a little every day. Loved this book!

Thank you. Wonderful book! I did truely enjoy it. Keep the books coming. You have a great style of writing. 

As the book went on I looked forward to it every day. For me the down side was having to wait for the weekend to be over to continue reading. My preference would be the book in it's entirety, but either way I'm hooked and will continue reading all your books. Thanks for a great series!

I,ve enjoyed Reading it every morning.It was a Nice thing, what you did for your readers. I have a question, how did Lexy escape from the boat, after G.C. Escape with the paintings. Thank you, i see forward for book 7. Escuse my english, i'm not use to write english. Violeta Jourdain

This is a very fun and intriguing approach to publishing. I would love to see stories from other series' that you are working on published in this method.

Your style on writing is top notch and u must say I enjoyed every bit of the story. Hope to read in advance book 7 8 and 9 .

This approach is excellent, I love it., such a great way to read a book. You know just where to leave the reader hanging before the next chapter, certainly builds the excitement.

How to Turn Your Novel into an Audiobook FREE Using the ACX Platform

If you have written and self-published a book, you simply can't afford to overlook the exploding audiobook market.  According to the American Association of Publishers, audiobook sales increased a whopping 26% in 2013 and 28% in 2014, with no slowdown in sight.

What's behind this amazing upsurge of the audio format?  The short and simple answer is technology.  Up until a few years ago, listening to an audiobook required a CD player, but all that has changed.  Every one of us is now carrying around an audiobook player right in our pockets or purses--our smartphones.  On top of that, every new automobile manufactured now has a port for smartphones, which makes it possible to listen to audiobooks over the car's higher-quality sound system.

Although audiobooks were originally created as a way for the blind or sight-impaired to enjoy reading books, with the required audio player constantly at everyone's fingertips, more and more people have discovered that the medium offers a great advantage--a hands-free way for us to "read" a book while we are physically doing something else.  Examples include listening to books while:

- Commuting back and forth to work via car, bus, train, ferry, etc.  

- Exercising/working out/hiking/walking

- Performing repetitive tasks such as housework/cooking/gardening, etc.

- Doing hobby or craft work such as knitting, painting, pottery, modeling, etc.

- Taking long trips by car, bus, train, or plane (audiobooks are very popular with truck drivers)

- Bathing or sunbathing, when the light isn't conducive to reading, you want to lay back and relax, or you simply don't want to risk getting your book or ereader or tablet wet.

- Experiencing a story in a group setting, with family or friends while on a road trip, for example.

- Learning English (or the language in which the book is narrated) - hearing the tone and pronunciation of words can help learners become more natural speakers.

Of course, so many people spend so much time staring at computer screens all day, audiobooks are simply a good way to enjoy a story without having to use your eyes at all.

So, the question is:  As a self-published author, how do you jump on the audiobook bandwagon?  Isn't adapting books to the audio format expensive?  And doesn't producing an audiobook consume a huge amount of time?

It turns out that the answer is no on both counts, not if you follow my advice here.  I'm going explain how you can get it done absolutely free, without spending a penny of your own money or eating up a significant amount of your time...and yet also produce a product of the highest quality, one that will stand up next to those produced by the Big 5 publishers.

How does one perform this magical feat?  Read on...

A Daunting, Impossible-seeming Prospect

When I first heard about the audiobook explosion, my first impulse was to simply whip out my smartphone and use the Voice Memos function and start narrating all my books myself.  After all, people have always said that I have a "good voice" and the recording quality of smartphones is pretty impressive these days, right?  

Wrong! It did not take me long (about ten minutes of recording) to realize that unless you are a trained voice artist with years of experience, you probably aren't going to create a decent audiobook yourself, no matter how "good" your natural speaking voice might be.  Professional audiobook narrators don't just read your book aloud, they perform it.  If you are not aware of this, then I can only say you have not listened to many audiobooks.  An experienced narrator gives each story character a unique voice that can be readily distinguished from all the others, and they convey emotions in those voices that are implied by the dialogue and context.  Furthermore, it takes a lot of stamina to record an entire audiobook.   You have to perform steadily and consistently, word after word, minute after minute, hour after hour, until you reach the end, which, depending on length will typically run six to fifteen hours.  So, unless you have professional voice work and have some acting experience, my advice is not to attempt to record your book yourself, not if you expect it to be taken seriously by a growing audiobook community with increasingly high standards.

But it's not just the actual narration that's difficult--it's also the recording and editing processes, not to mention all the time that it eats up and the learning curve involved. The leading audiobook distributors and retailers have high standards, too, in terms of the overall quality they will accept.  Every pop, click, "mouth noise" and noticeable breath you take during narration must be edited out to perfection.  There can be absolutely NO ambient noise (rumble of traffic on the street, doors closing, noise from aircraft or construction, faint sounds of the TV in the next room, etc.)  All of which means that if you want to meet these exacting standards and have your audiobook distributed to the top retailers, using your smartphone or dictation machine just won't do--you are going to either have to rent a professional recording studio and editor, which is very expensive, or set up a small recording booth inside of your home (also expensive, around $1,500 for the required professional microphone, software, etc.) and learn to edit and produce high quality MP3 files yourself.

Of course, there is a middle ground.  This is to hire a professional voice artist who also knows how to edit and produce the required high quality audio files, and who has all the required equipment at home.  It turns out there are a lot of such folks, especially around Los Angeles, New York, London, and other creative centers.  But how do you find them? How do you hire them?  How do you know you're getting a good deal?  How do you know they'll deliver? What about legal contracts?  Aren't they complicated?  Will you need to hire a lawyer to work it all out?  And won't this still eat up gobs of your time?

The answer is yes, it will eat up gobs of your time, and it becomes extremely complicated to manage.

I know this from personal experience--I went down this "middle ground" path for a while and got nowhere.   I ran advertisements online for narrators, interviewed and auditioned them on Skype, but ultimately did not feel comfortable enough with any of them to make a deal, not for that kind of money--the average professional narrator charges $4,000 to $5,000 to produce the average length audiobook.  Moving down this path you will discover a hundred and one ways to get ripped off.

Enter ACX

I probably would have dismissed the prospect of producing my own novels as audiobooks altogether if I hadn't stumbled upon ACX, the Audiobook Creation Exchange.  Launched in 2011 by Audible, the market leader in audiobooks, ACX is website that allows authors and narrators to find each other and create audiobooks together.  The way it works is elegant in its simplicity--you post your book on the ACX site, free, using the Amazon Kindle link for the book, along with a sample for auditions, and narrators browse the site, find your posting, and submit auditions to you.  What's more, once you settle on a narrator, all the contracts are handled automatically online in a clean, logical, step-by-step format--it's literally a matter of clicking buttons.  You and your narrator agree on a deadline and payment terms, and the brilliant way that it's set up forces you both to act logically and professionally and keeps either party from being taken advantage of.

Once the audiobook is finished, it appears for sale on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes in a matter of days.  Under the scheme I use, Audible even takes care of the accounting and royalty payments to the narrator--you don't have to lift a finger.  Other than listening to auditions (which is kind of fun) and choosing your narrator, the only other thing you have to do is listen to the chapters as they are produced in case there are any mistakes, upload a cover image, and sign-off on the final product.  So, as an author, the required time and learning curve are minimal, which allows you to stay focused on your books.

Of course, all this ease and simplicity comes with a price tag.   The royalty ACX pays for each audiobook sold or downloaded is a flat 40% of the sales price.  This assumes you give ACX exclusive distribution rights for seven years, and since they cover the lion's share of the market and will likely continue to do so, I don't know why you wouldn't want to do that. Which means that ACX takes 60% for distributing and selling your books, and providing you with the platform to connect you with narrators, and for making it all simple, professional and easy to deal with.  

Is this a fair price for such a service?  I think so.  If you reread the details of what I just said above, or take a few small steps in the direction of producing audiobooks on your own, you will see how complicated, risky, and time-consuming it becomes otherwise, and I believe the cut ACX takes is well worth it.

To Share or Not to Share?

The only thing you have to do to produce your audiobooks with ACX for free is to opt for what they call their Royalty Share option. This means that the narrator produces the entire, polished audiobook at his or her own expense in exchange for half of the future royalties.  

I have currently produced seven audiobooks this way (you can see them in the left-hand side of this blog), with more in the queue.  Why have I chosen this option, besides that it costs me nothing up front?  First, producing any new product is always risky, and with the Royalty Share agreement, you and the narrator share the risk.  On top of that, I believe that the narrator is more committed and will do a better job this way.  If you pay him or her up front, the narrator is working more or less like a temporary employee and has no vested interest in the future, other than perhaps you hiring them for another project someday if you think they did a good job.  In contrast, with the Royalty Share option, the narrator is putting his or her own time and resources into the product, which shows a belief in its success.  The audiobook truly becomes a long-term, joint creative venture between the two of you.  If the audiobook does well, both of you will profit equally and hopefully for many years to come. 

But there is another advantage to choosing the Royalty Share option.  If you are trying to make money with your writing, you need to view it as a business, and every dollar (or pound or euro) you spend on producing the audiobooks must be made back by selling said audiobooks to listeners.  Again, the average price for a narrator to produce a finished audiobook is between $4,000-5,000.  That amounts to a lot of audiobooks you have to sell just to reach the breakeven point!  In a way, when you go into this kind of debt up front, you are stacking the odds against yourself, because chances are that you will get discouraged and stop making the required effort on the marketing side.  Yes, just as with ebooks and paperbacks, your audiobook sales will likely be sluggish without some promotion behind them, so be prepared.

Tips on Producing Audiobooks with ACX and Working with Narrators

First, at the outset, fix in your mind that an audiobook is not a book (or an ebook or a paper book).    It is a different art form altogether, similar to a movie or a stage play that is created from your book.  An audiobook is an adaptation of your work into another format, an "interpretation" of the work, if you will, one that is created mostly by your narrator.  To do a good job working with him or her, you will find that you must let go a little bit--with an audiobook, there is simply no way to exercise the same amount of creative control you have over a self-published ebook or paperback, not without driving both yourself and your narrator crazy.

Bearing this in mind, here are my tips:

1.  If you have self-published more than one book, start with the one with the most positive reviews on Amazon.  When browsing through books on ACX, narrators willing to work under the Royalty Share agreement take this into account.  Naturally, they want to narrate books that have good reviews, and as many good reviews as possible, which is certainly understandable.

2.  Choose with great care the audition pages that you post from your book.  Ideally, you want to test the narrator's skills on several levels.  Probably the most important is the ability to separate character voices and make them distinct for the listener.  Another is the ability to convey emotion.  A third is pacing--how fast do they read? Try to post an emotional scene or scenes that include rich dialogue between your main characters.  Your audition does not have to be from the beginning of the book, nor does it have to be a continuous piece--there are no rules about which parts you can post.   If it is important that any of your characters speak with foreign accents or regional dialects, try to include a piece that tests that in the audition, too.  Most narrators are good at some accents but not so good at others.  Having said all that, keep your audition text as short as possible, because most narrators view this phase as highly speculative and are hesitant to invest a lot of time into long, drawn out auditions that may not lead to a contract.

3.  During the audition and choice-making process, resist the urge to "change" the narrator.   I would say that if you don't like more than one major thing that a narrator does in the audition recording, pass.  Only offer a narrator a second audition if you think there is a good chance you will make a deal with that person.  "Can you try reading a little faster (or slower)?" is a reasonable suggestion, or "Could you try to make the hero's voice a little more masculine (or feminine)?"  They may or may not agree--again, it's speculative work for them.  Avoid trying to shape or mold your prospective narrator into some ideal that you have in mind.  Remember that an audiobook is a separate art form and the small things you don't like may be in fact something that many listeners do like.  In short, take a lesson from great film directors, like Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen.  Despite their larger-than-life portrayals by the media, most of them do not "elicit" fantastic performances from their actors through extensive coaching or instruction--they simply hold auditions, choose the best professionals for the job, and then get out of the way and let the actors do their thing.  This is how I work with my narrators and I urge you to do the same.  Trying to micromanage your narrator, once contracted, will only frustrate him or her and bog down your project.

4.  Similarly, during the narration process, as you listen to each chapter that has been recorded, resist the urge to change anything except what is absolutely necessary.  What do I mean by that?  Only omitted words, grammatical mistakes and gross mispronunciations that you think a large number of readers will notice.  Going back and editing the recording is a lot of work on the narrator's part, so be mindful about changes.  The narration does not have to match the book down to every tiny word--if they add "the" or take one away somewhere, as long as the sentence is still grammatically correct and sounds alright, leave it be.  Inevitably, your narrator will come across a typo or other mistake that you and your proofreaders missed--sometimes they will correct these on the fly, but sometimes they don't.  In these instances there is nothing you can do but change them, unfortunately.  If your narrator is encountering more than one such error per chapter, my advice is to put the recording on hold and have your entire manuscript proofread again before proceeding.

5.  In closing, always be polite to your narrator and behave in a professional manner.  Narrators are artists, too, and just as sensitive about their work as you are about yours.  As you listen to each chapter they record, be sure to give plenty of praise about what you like and be gentle in pointing out any mistakes.  I believe if you choose a competent narrator and always keep this in mind, things will go smoothly and you will be pleased with the resulting audiobook that you produce together.

Takeaway

I hope that this article has helped you understand how you can have your books adapted into audiobook format at no cost to you and consuming very little of your time.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the Comments section below.

Good luck with your audiobooks!

If you have any questions about using ACX to create audiobooks, please feel free to ask in the comments section below or email me at mike (at) mikewellsbooks.com